Blog articles by Daisy Lau

The context for decision-making in the healthcare industry has been thoroughly disrupted – from patients navigating the world of telehealth to HCP’s increased reliance on online channels for knowledge gathering.

Despite this rapidly evolving environment, your mission as a pharma marketeer, continues: to enable value creation and product differentiation and empower both physicians and patients for improved outcomes. However, to do so effectively today, you need to understand how patient journeys are changing, and what new needs have emerged. Only by understanding the nuances of these shifts, will you be able to effectively adapt your marketing, communications and/or innovation strategies for greater impact now and in the long term.

How to unlock the numbers in niche indications by using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

If you’re in a highly specialized area, such as MedTech or rare diseases, you’ll be only too familiar with the challenges of working with small sample sizes. Qualitative insights are important but when go/no go decisions are at stake, you may need a more data-driven approach. But, how can you obtain robust market data for decision-making when your target population and treating physicians are limited?

How pharmaceutical brands Analyze patient needs to maximize your impact on treatment success

Emotions affect our behavior, what we do and how we do it. In the same way, as the patient voice grows more influential, their emotions also affect decisions about their care and satisfaction with treatment. Yet patient research shows, particularly in the case of chronic conditions, that many of their emotional needs remain unmet. Frustration with progress, stress from the burden of taking more medication, or a sense of isolation are common, making them less likely to commit to their treatment or gain the maximum benefit. All of which could be bad news for your brand.

Conventional research approaches to understanding prescribing behavior lack the insights required today

A physician’s decision – or reluctance – to prescribe your drug over the competition has long been influenced by a number of factors, such as clinical efficacy, sales rep touchpoints, marketing materials etc. However, the proliferation of online medical information, social media referrals and wellness apps have added more considerations to the mix as patients take more control over their health. Now physicians, and other healthcare professionals, are assuming more of a “listener” role during consultations vs. solely the “adviser” role.

This shift in interaction between prescriber and patient, coupled with mounting time and cost pressure from the payers, places more importance than ever on accurately understanding why and when physicians make their prescribing decisions.